I know I’m not the only one who was keen on a league challenge this season, preferably from Aberdeen, not the effervescent Hamilton Accies, who made some early running. Aberdeen, of all other Scottish clubs, have the potential to push Celtic further.
That all came tumbling down during the steak pie yesterday, as I watched scores on my phone. A challenge is OK, but the temerity to go top of the league in January is something else.
Celtic had largely sorted their early season performance problems but an undeserved defeat at Dundee United and a wholly deserved point for Ross County opened the door to Aberdeen, who have threatened to get their act together for 18 months and finally appear to be delivering. The frustrating thing for Ronny Deila and his squad, is that Aberdeen will fancy their chances in all of their upcoming games, while it’s another 8 weeks before Celtic will have an opportunity to take points off them.
Some of us pondered that we need competition to sharpen wits and muscles. It’s welcome, although I may reconsider if we’re not back on top after the Aberdeen game on 28th Feb.
Anyone fretting about the prospects of Four-in-a-Row is respectfully invited to get a grip of themselves.
Neil Doncaster, what a wit*. He sat in the meeting which rejected newco Rangers’ (then Sevco Scotland’s) application to join the SPL in place of oldco Rangers, who were then on their way to liquidation.
Doncaster met Craig Whyte along with SPL chairman Ralph Topping, in London in October 2011 when Whyte laid his cards on the table – and co-opted Doncaster into selling his doomsday scenario:
‘We’re going down the lavvy, the world will end, but you two can sort it all out, let me flush the detritus and nip into the SPL as though nothing had happened.’
He even suggested the whole episode would be over and done with within three months. Doncaster was caught in the headlights, dreading having to lose a club midseason, and no doubt had genuine doomsday fears, he folded in the face of that cunning operator, Craig Whyte, and tried to sell Whyte’s plan to SPL clubs. He failed, after considerable fan pressure.
Yesterday’s interview contained nothing he didn’t say two years ago, but it’s timing raises questions over what exactly he’s doing for his salary, that an inexperienced gardener couldn’t do.
For the record: Rangers appointed a liquidator and changed their name. Sevco Scotland applied for and received conditional membership to the SFA and Scottish Football League. They received permission from Rangers administrators to use the name ‘Rangers’. The newco played its first game against Brechin City….. then oldco Rangers had their SFA membership rescinded. Oldco and Newco existed as two separate members of the SFA at the same time.
Not since the Big Man explained transubstantiation has anyone tried to sell the same story. Until Whyte and Doncaster. Explain the simultaneous memberships – and we might take you seriously, otherwise, leave that patter for off-mic. comments to eager Bears.
*edited for appropriateness.
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And Happy New Year!
Forgot my manners there.
BSR
I think that is more than a tad unfair. Are we Celtic or are we Old Firm ?
How many fans bought into the Brian Quinn FFP direction the club took after Seville.This blog is testament to it. Kept the faith in the club and its custodians and the direction it was going. Dared to hope that Seville will not be Lisbon II. i.e a fifty year wait and counting. I am not expecting a CL final but at least European ambition. That we are all in this together.
Yet we have said nothing about the absolute criminal activity that has been peddled in our name as members of the SFA and SPFL and quite influential members while the downsizing very noticeably on the playing side continues unabated.
It is about our identity ? not soundbites
If this club was in the EPL can only take you so far before Celtic fans start to ask questions.
If the downsizing is to bolster Scottish football then come out and say it. Honesty rather than second car salesman pitches is what we expect. Is that not fair ?
HH
Happy birthday miss doc
Prestonpans Bhoy,
If he acted without consulting the member clubs he should be brought to book.
Frankly his position is untenable.
If he did consult, then that’s another mess.
A woman’s view by my wife just now.
When watching certain games on TV she sometimes comments on players often through stories I tell her.
I just told her that her pal from Liverpool had announced he is done at the end of this season to which she replied ” Is he the one who cheats on women or beats people up?”
“Beats people up” I replied as in Stevie G.
“Who is the other one who cheats on women” she asked.
“John Terry” I said.
“Don’t like him either” she said.
Peter Crouch is her favourite and it used to be Michael Ballack for the longest time.
Just giving you my wife’s view.
Mincey.
BSR
What to do then ? …nothing?
What if Sevco are welcomed “back” to CP as the old firm renewed ?
BMCUW & 67Heaven
Well do on hitting the target every time, mind you the unimagative ‘greenman’ was a bit of a give away.
latchford
16:12
The last time anybody challenged was John Reid and he helped secure the investment to deliver Strachans 3 in a row. That would never have happened under a Lawwell.
————
Err Lawwell was the CEO when Strachan was in charge….
But ok…
Sack PL. Payoff circa £500k – £1m out the football budget.
Then what? Who do want to replace him and what do you expect them to do with the same mandate from the board?
before I forget
RIP the 66 Rangers fans who lost their lives in the Ibrox Disaster on this dreadful day.
HH
A guy goes to the doctor and tells him that every time he farts it sounds like a motorcycle. So the doc asks the chap to pull his pants down and bend over. Sure enough, the man farts loudly and its sounds like a Honda motorbike.
The doc says, “you’ve got an abscess up your arse.”
The bloke says, “surely it can’t make my arse make noises like that.”
The old doctor says, “abscess makes the fart go Honda!”
Podolski to Inter on loan
green man
16:04 on 2 January, 2015
HH, in that case…!!
murdochbhoy@ 16.21
What do you mean by that post?
Would you care to elaborate.
HH
Awe_Naw, indeed, RIP the 66 who died in the Ibrox disaster.
latchford
16:12 on 2 January, 2015
Yep, we should take a leaf out of david murray’s book …….it’s really quite simple, isn’t it …..
I’m a bit concerned about winning the league.
I think most people will think that Aberdeen can’t go on a consistent run and will fall away, what if they don’t?
I’m concerned that we can’t beat teams like Dundee, Hamilton or Raith Rovers.
I’m concerned that our main playmaker seems to be our left back.
If you’re an opposition manager we’re to predictable and your first instruction would be to hassle Ambrose, you will get a chance from him.
67heaven
Yes that’s right …the only alternative to excessive parsimony is unfettered profligacy
I thought that BS had been out to bed some time ago
67 Heaven
Why not ?
You can dump millions of debt liquidate and still be the same club according to the CEO of the SPFL.
fOR tWITTERERS :)))
sTRANGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED ON THE 6TH FLOOR OF cORRUPTDEN HOME OF THE sfa
(imho)
https://twitter.com/moo_ted/status/550986561052237824
Deary deary me:((
and that is without drink :)))))
“Some of us pondered that we need competition to sharpen wits and muscles. It’s welcome”
No it isn’t in this instance. Rather than Aberdeen (etc) improving to mount a serious title challenge the facts are blatantly obvious , or should be . The quality of the Celtic team has been intentionally reduced to such a level that clubs with considerably less financial clout and resources can compete with Celtic – not just for the occasional cup run but for the league title. That is an indisputable fact. With our resources we should be out of sight in the league. I am all for competition but not due to the continued downsizing of Celtic. Look at who is at the top league FFS- the Gothenburg greats they aren’t.
More spin from Celtic news mark 2
….pfayr supports weeoscar
16:19 on 2 January, 2015
I won’t be there, and if every CELTIC Supporter followed my example, they would soon do something about it …….?
Have we ever had a CQN transubstantiation debate?
murdochbhoy
I don’t mind you implying that im a troll, that’s fine.
But to say that im “unimaginative”, well, that’s just outrageous.
What have you go to say for yourself?
HH
Ross County even
Leftclick, have a drink, looks like you could be doing with one buddy:-)
And stop shouting.
The greenman is a Tim …
The greenman is an unrepentant fenian Tim….
Be silly
Be honest
Be kind
HH
Tragic news.
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/kyle-doherty-stenhousemuir-fc-tributes-8375061
….pfayr supports weeoscar
16:32 on 2 January, 2015
……I’m confident you have reviewed the accounts…
Oglach
16:33
Rather than Aberdeen (etc) improving to mount a serious title challenge the facts are blatantly obvious
———
The facts are obvious. Aberdeen have the same number of points as GS and NL did in their 3rd seasons on the way to winning the title.
===
The quality of the Celtic team has been intentionally reduced to such a level that clubs with considerably less financial clout and resources can compete with Celtic
——-
Hysterical nonsense
======
With our resources we should be out of sight in the league
———-
Athletico Madrid won La Liga with far less resources than Barca or Real. Liverpool nearly done the same in England, with less resources than City or Chelsea.
=======
I am all for competition
———-
Clearly you’re not.
mmmmmmmm some things would put me aff even a braw Forfar bridie…. :) a blatant repost for dissemination…etc etc etc
Neustadt-Braw
15:46 on
2 January, 2015
P67……….Have a Happy Celtic New Year, strap in and enjoy the ride, I promise it’ll be a great one.
an unfortunate sentence…….if the suits agreed to the Donkeys statement….a water shed moment ….”pick up that soap Timmy” …..seems to me it is time to “strap-on!” no strap in ….
braw is not hoopy…..
Ohhh and congrats to Starry
Top of the tree again.
Paul67 Happy new year to you and yours and thank you for this place.
Wife said she was going out visiting for a couple of hours , and I got yon urge to punch the air and say Yesssssssssssss(but didn’t) instead replied” but what will I do” as all sorts of plans flashed through my head , i’m now bored
SimplemindCSC
The green man @ 16.25
I thought it was explicit, mind, I’ve since read you’ve quoted someone to vouch for your credentials and that being the case I’ll look forward to your future posts with interest, hail hail
bognorbhoy
Aha…wiser heads always prevail:)
A Happy New Year to you and yours.
They were telling me the other day, that I was, and I quote ” a dirty sevconian journalist”, you can imagine how that amused me:).
But still, I will try and point out a few things here and there:)
HH
Craig Beattie
has 4 sub then subbed games
1 sun 07th mar 2004
Scottish cup quarter final
Celtic…………….1-0…..Rangers
Larsson 53min
pearson..beattie 57min beattie..sylla 90min
2 wed 10th nov 2004
League cup quarter final
Rangers…………2-1…..Celtic aet
prso 85min………………hartson 66min
arveladze 101min
petrov..beattie 90min beattie..mcgeady 105min
3 sun 24th april 2005
League
Rangers………….1-2…..Celtic
Thompson 88min………petrov 21min
……………………………….bellamy 34min
bellamy..beattie 48min beattie..Wallace 90min
4 sun 30th oct 2005
League
Dundee Utd……..2-4…..Celtic
Sutton og 04min…………hartson 17min
Samuel 30min……………Sutton 28min
………………………………..Archibald og 32min
………………………………..pearson 88min
hartson..beattie 75min beattie..pearson 83min
happy new year celtic people
hail hail
67 heaven
Of course ….why is that relevant
bognorbhoy
Did you get your Inter tickets yet?
HH
FFin’ reaction to Fauré’s exposé:
“McCoists management was not ideal, this article confirms that”
——
“we had no money,….. no scouting network in place, what more could Ally McCoist have done… ?”
——
“I refuse to believe that mccoist pulled down his pants, knelt on the goal line and told players to blast the ball at his bare *rse. Beyond ridiculous , I just don’t accept it.
Can anybody imagine jock Wallace [The Talented MR.] struth or Walter smith doing this kind of thing”
——
“I’m not sure I can believe it either. It would be really, really weird for grown men to act that way, more so when one of them is supposed to be the manager
‘Try and hit my bare *rse with the ball, Bilel’.”
——
“I don’t doubt it for a minute.
Ally is a big fan of Soccer AM and they used to have a part of the show, where anyone who made a mistake the week before, had to go into a box, drop their trousers and let everyone else aim the ball at their *rse.”
——
“The interview came from a French website, reading it, there must be something lost in translation”
——
“Some stuff makes you unbelievably proud others make you want to cry.”
——
“The problem with Le Guen was he just wasn’t a very good manager.”
——
“That doesn’t come across great on the management set up at all.”
——
“I’m struggling to believe that some posters are actually defending McCoists *rse antics… I still cannot accept that it happened
Think for a minute how ridiculous and surreal it would be for any other of our managers in history to do what has been alleged here . Souness, struth, Wallace , any of them, bent naked on the goal line shouting to be skelped by the ball??…. I’m hoping this is one of those foreign press things and it’s been translated wrongly”
——
“I suspected we were lax in our attitude and preparation”